Leah Peterson- Candidate for Election- Longmeadow Select Board

Candidates for Select Board and School Committee in the upcoming Longmeadow Annual Town Elections on June 11 were asked to provide their election profile and answer a series of questions so that town voters would be better informed about their candidacy.  The following information was submitted to LongmeadowBuzz blog by Leah Peterson- a candidate for election to the Longmeadow Select Board.

 ___________________________________________

Leah Peterson- Candidate for SB

Why are you running for Select Board?

I grew up in Longmeadow and have been fortunate to experience the idyllic childhood and exceptional education that Longmeadow and our public school system provide. From riding my bike to Center School through my time as captain of the LHS girls track team, this community has given me so much. I want to give back and help ensure that this truly unique community will be enjoyed by future generations.

Many of my fondest childhood memories were formed because Longmeadow is a safe, tight-knit community that empowers children to be independent from a young age. My husband, Erik, and I have three preschool and elementary aged children. So, I am very passionate about the future of our town, and I want to provide my children with the education, historical beauty, and green spaces that I enjoyed growing up. 

As the daughter of a Springfield school teacher and small business owner, I witnessed my parents work hard to provide my brothers and me with the best opportunities. My parents still reside in my childhood home, and I want them to continue to enjoy their retirement here while managing the challenges of living on a fixed income. This puts me in the unique position to understand the multi-generational needs of our community. With three generations of my family here, I am extremely vested in how the future of this town will impact all residents. I look forward to the opportunity to serve the community I love!

What are your qualifications including relevant experience?

Since graduating from Longmeadow High, I earned my Bachelor of Science from Wentworth Institute of Technology, Master of Business Administration from Bay Path (of course), worked for MassMutual, and currently work as an executive in the financial services industry.

My professional experience has been focused on leadership of multi-million dollar technology and business transformations, mergers and acquisitions, and strategy development across various lines of business. My career exposes me to so many different challenges and I have developed skills that will be an asset on the Select Board: 

• Long-term strategic planning and prioritization of large portfolios; focusing resources on the most impactful work
• Breaking down complex problems and building business cases to achieve strategic goals
• Enabling cross-disciplinary collaboration; giving voice to and trusting the expertise of others
• Leading both direct reports and indirect cross-functional teams
• Recruiting and retaining high-performing talent
• Assessing and complying with evolving regulatory obligations
• Managing multi-million dollar project budgets
  

As a leader in environmental stewardship, I have firsthand experience developing sustainability strategies and programs. So, I am especially excited about how these skills will help ensure that the town is climate-conscious in all its decisions.

What are the key challenges facing Longmeadow as a community?

Maintaining the town infrastructure requires strategic planning and the town has kicked the can on many important areas for too long: 

• Our roads are in terrible shape and our current approach is not getting the job done
• The town buildings are aging and, in some cases, no longer fit for purpose
• Continuous water main breaks are disruptive to many residents and costly for all of us
•  Some of the fields and parks our children play on are in need of upgrades and repairs 

Any parent whose child has attended Glenbrook Middle School will tell you the same thing, “it has no walls!” So, the new middle school project is much needed and is an exciting opportunity for the town to provide our children with a safe and effective learning environment. 

The proposed construction of the Tennessee Gas meter station and Eversource gas pipeline conflict with environmental sustainability and introduce unnecessary risk to our community.

How would you propose to resolve the top 3 issues?

Infrastructure: Long-range financial planning to repair and maintain our infrastructure properly so we do not leave this problem for future generations. Reduction/consolidation of town facilities to optimize use and reduce operational cost burden.

Middle School: I attended the middle school visioning session and learned so much from fellow residents about their hopes for the future of our schools. Our school system is a leading differentiator for attracting new families, so the decisions we make here are vital to the future of Longmeadow. Having Select Board members with children who will attend the new middle school will be an asset to the process ahead. I will engage with residents on this issues and represent their voice at the Select Board meetings.

Pipeline Project: I support Longmeadow’s on-going litigation with Eversource to block the pipeline project. I do not believe Eversource has articulated reasonable cause for pipeline redundancy as they have not analyzed alternative options for gas disruption (such as temporarily delivering to the affected areas) within their proposal. I will continue to advocate for the safety and the well being of our community.

I am running to represent all residents and I want to hear about what is important to you, so please reach out with any questions or ideas via email: Leah4Longmeadow@gmail.com or at my Facebook page: Leah Peterson, candidate for Longmeadow Select Board.

Thank you for dedicating time to learn about why I am running and I hope you will vote Leah Peterson for Select Board on June 11th at the Longmeadow Community House.